10 Easy Exercises to Strengthen Your Hips and to Help Relieve Pain

While not everyone can have those supple hips like Shakira, you can all benefit from working on and strengthening muscles that support those agile hips.

Although often ignored and uncared for, your hips are the fulcrum point for all the movements in your lower body. Sitting at work or home for most of the day leads to tight hip flexors that causes troubles like hip pain, lower back pain and injury.

Moreover, weak hips can lead to an antalgic gait, causing knee, ankle or foot injuries that can leave you resting in bed for days or months at a stretch.

And this is just the beginning, hip problems don’t stop here. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, more than 2.5 million Americans today are living with an artificial hip. In fact, hip replacements are on the rise in the United States, peaking specifically among adults in early middle-age.

A 2005 study published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine discovered an association between overuse injuries in the lower extremities and poor strength in the hip abductor, adductor and flexor muscles around the hip region.

So, it’s worthwhile to take a look at your hip troubles and work to improve their strength and flexibility.

While nothing can beat walking, jogging and running, compound hip-specific strengthening exercises like squats, bridges and lunges are important to make sure your hips stay strong.

Here are some great hip flexor exercises that will help strengthen your hips and improve flexibility.

Lift your left leg up as far as you can, keeping it straight while you lift it.

Slowly, bring your leg back down so that it is in line with the right leg.

Complete 15 repetitions with that leg.

Roll over to the other side and repeat with your right leg.

Practice this every other day to get rid of hip pain.

3. Lying Leg Circles

Lying leg circles work on your gluteal muscles and hip flexors to promote flexibility, strength and range of motion in all the muscles that make hip and leg rotation possible.

Lie down on your back.

Extend your legs straight out.

Elevate your left leg to about 3 inches off the ground.

Make small circles, keeping your whole leg straight and aligned.

Switch to the other leg and repeat the process.

Perform 3 sets of 5 rotations on each leg, for 15 total reps on each leg daily.

Eventually, as you practice the exercise daily, you may raise your leg higher.

4. Single-Leg Squat

Also known as pistol squats, single-leg squats are a great exercise that work primarily on increasing the resilience in your legs. It targets your glutes, hips and quad muscles to improve your balance and stability.